Performer, teacher, conductor, and versatile musician, Amanda Gates is a violinist in both the Virginia Symphony, where she served as Assistant Concertmaster from 2003-2021, and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. For the past three years, she has served as the Chair of Instrumental Music at The Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia. There, she directs and conducts the Governor’s School for the Arts Symphony Orchestra and designs and implements the full curriculum for all piano, orchestral and jazz students in the Instrumental Music department. 

A native of Reston, Virginia, she graduated summa cum laude from The Catholic University of America, where she studied with Robert Gerle. She has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, the Catholic University Orchestra, and the Chautauqua Symphony Chamber Players. Her performances of Kurt Weill's Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra and John Adam's Violin Concerto were received to great acclaim.

She is proficient on guitar, mandolin, viola, and cello, and is well versed in many styles of music. She has composed and arranged music for the Portland-based band emberghost, the off-Broadway Royal Family production of Anne of Green Gables, and collaborated with Grammy winner Chad Hugo on crossover projects involving strings. 

Most recently, she has begun coursework towards the degree of Master of Music Education with a concentration in Orchestral Conducting at Old Dominion University, where she studies with Dr. Paul Kim. Her two sons, Byron and Blake, are currently completing their undergraduate studies at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the Cleveland Institute of Music, respectively.